Favorite artifact?

[danzibr]

Hands down, I'd have to say the Eye and Hand of Vecna. If I had to choose just one, the eye.

[Alleran]

The Black Elfstone of Shannara. Ultimate power will be mine. :smallamused:

More seriously, it would probably be one of the Faerun artifacts. I'm quite fond of the Elfblades of Cormanthyr.

[Cog]

...Elfblades of Cormanthyr.
I'm not going to look up what those are, because I much prefer my current mental image of elves being wielded as bladed weapons.

[Crossblade]

Orbs of Dragonkind. All of them.

[Hiro Protagonest]

My favorite is the Spear of Urrok the Brave.

[Telonius]

My favorites: three custom-made homebrews, The Bell, The Book, and The Candle. They were a group of MacGuffins needed to repel an invasion of Devils onto the material plane. Unfortunately that campaign fizzled out before it started, but the abilities would have been soooo awesome...

[gorfnab]

Hands down, I'd have to say the Eye and Hand of Vecna. If I had to choose just one, the eye.
If you like those you should see the Hook and Glass Eye of Vecna :smalltongue:

[Kuulvheysoon]

Hmmm... I like most of the Underdark Artifacts, and of those... The Tome of Books and the Portal Demolisher are pretty cool, as is the Third Imaskarcana.

Actually, have all 7 Imaskarcana been published? I know of at least two that have.

[danzibr]

I'm not going to look up what those are, because I much prefer my current mental image of elves being wielded as bladed weapons.

Agreed, me neither.

[The-Mage-King]

Hm... I'd have to say...


Clock of Omens.


Oh, sorry. Wrong game.


Uh, any sort of golem the size of a small mountain that can be controlled from the inside by a humanoid..

[togapika]

The head of Vecna...:wink:

[Alleran]

Actually, have all 7 Imaskarcana been published? I know of at least two that have.
No.

The First and Fifth Imaskarcana can be found in Lost Empires of Faerun. They are a crown and a scepter, respectively. The Third Imaskarcana is in Underdark, and is a book. The Seventh Imaskarcana was mentioned in the web enhancement for LEoF, but exactly what it does is unknown. It is in the shape of a key and holds all the Imaskari knowledge about creating permanent extradimensional spaces, but beyond that is left to the DM.

So we're still missing the Second, Fourth and Sixth Imaskarcana. As far as I know, they were under NDA when I asked Ed Greenwood what they were.

[Doughnut Master]

The Skewer of Gnomes.


How does it get better than that?

[Undercroft]

Call me old fashioned, but i'm a sucker for the good old Deck of Many Things.

[Alleran]

The Skewer of Gnomes.


How does it get better than that?
It could be a Skewer of Kender.

[golentan]

It's third party, but the Blade of the Nexus from Arcana Unearthed (not Unearthed Arcana, confusing I know and I transposed them in the original post) always stuck with me as just pure awesomesauce on so many levels.

[Mayhem]

Call me old fashioned, but i'm a sucker for the good old Deck of Many Things.
+1. Deck of many things is awesome.

[Blackjackg]

Once upon a time, the Deck of Many Things was just another magic item. Good times, good times.

Reaching back into the depths of 1e, I gotta go with Baba Yaga's Hut.

[Amphetryon]

Axe of the Dwarvish Lords. It's an axe, it's dwarfy, what's not to love? :smalltongue:

[elonin]

Rod of Lordly Might. What can't it do.

[arguskos]

Hmm. Artifacts, aye? Let's list some goodies that folks here seem to be unaware of.

The Machine of Lum the Mad: You like the Deck? You'll love this thing. With something like 8.5x1048 possible abilities, you literally will NEVER be bored, and your players will despise you forever more.

The Apparatus: Mad science given form and function by the dark powers of Ravenloft, this one can do all sorts of bizarre things. Totally awesome plot device in all ways possible.

The Iron Bow and Iron Hammer of Gesen: I just like these two. The idea of a bow and hammer made from pure iron that slowly turn the user into someone similar to the weapon's namesake is pretty sweet.

The Ring of Gaxx: An item with a dozen stories concerning its origins, this one won my heart in Baldur's Gate 2, for being totally amazing in that game. Loved it ever since. :smallcool:

[Starscream]

The Appendix of Vecna.

In all seriousness, the Death Rock could break a game in two.

It gives any character the spellcasting of a sorcerer whose level equals his own. The only spells known are Necromancy spells, but that's still freaking incredible.

And if you are already a sorcerer, you get that stuff in addition to your own. Imagine Xykon with this thing. Ouch.

But there's a drawback that makes it quite tricky:

"Once per week, the closest companion or dearest loved one
of the Death Rock’s owner is automatically slain and turned
into a zombie that serves the owner.
The owner may forsake the Death Rock to prevent this (or
he might run out of companions or loved ones), but then
the Death Rock immediately fades away."

Fun campaign idea: members of a noble family are mysteriously dying and reanimating. Why? Because one of their number got his hands on this thing, and the PCs need to find out who.

[Grommen]

For me most likely the Axe of the Dwarvish Lords. Cause I found it like 3 times, those dwarves were always loosing it. This was back in 1st ed days so the DM got to make up what it's special powers were. Each time we found it, it gave us +1 to every stat. YA BABIE! :smallwink: So what if my elf talked with a gravelly voice and had to shave twice a day. I had a 20 STR ! whooot!

More recently, due to sheer luck we have also found the "Book of Vial Darkness" so many times we have turned it into a Box Set collectors edition with a DVD that has a bonus +3 hours of Darkness. I think were up to volume 6 "Oozes, Slimes, and Jellies".

And before it was an artifact we shuffled a "Deck of Many Things" in with a "Deck of Illusions" to make a "Deck of many Illusionionary Things." Try using that for Poker night :smalleek:

[Callos_DeTerran]

The Deathrock is good, but I have a fondness for Angelwing Razor from Book of Vile Darkness. It just has this implication about it that it's not really magical, just really frakkin' sharp, sharp enough to cut Walls of Force.

[Hiro Protagonest]

The Deathrock is good, but I have a fondness for Angelwing Razor from Book of Vile Darkness. It just has this implication about it that it's not really magical, just really frakkin' sharp, sharp enough to cut Walls of Force.

"Whoa, the Sword of Heroes! Said to be so sharp you can cut yourself just by looking at-OW!"

[Qwertystop]

The Machine of Lum the Mad: You like the Deck? You'll love this thing. With something like 8.5x1048 possible abilities, you literally will NEVER be bored, and your players will despise you forever more.

The Apparatus: Mad science given form and function by the dark powers of Ravenloft, this one can do all sorts of bizarre things. Totally awesome plot device in all ways possible.
Where are the Machine and Apparatus?

My favorite is the box that turns into a giant robot crab. Mostly because it sound awesome when described like that, and then turns out completely useless.

[Blackjackg]

My favorite is the box that turns into a giant robot crab. Mostly because it sound awesome when described like that, and then turns out completely useless.

As far as I know, the Apparatus of the Kwalish has never been classified as an artifact. But definitely a very cool-sounding box of not-so-great.

[arguskos]

Where are the Machine and Apparatus?
Last source for both that I'm aware of is the AD&D Book of Artifacts, an excellent source that contains all of the ones I listed and dozens more aside, such as the Ivory Chain of Pao, the Monocle of Bagthalos (later reprinted in Dragons of Faerun, but I like it better here), the Silencer of Bodach, and Kuroth's Quill.

Really a fantastic book all around, and an excellent source for items and material.


As far as I know, the Apparatus of the Kwalish has never been classified as an artifact. But definitely a very cool-sounding box of not-so-great.
Indeed. It never has been so understood.

Also, a veeeeeery obscure artifact that I liked was the device of time journeying, from Dragonlance Adventures (again, old edition). It's a... scepter/pendant/time machine/thing, and very fun if you like such things.

[Malimar]

Another vote for Deck Of Many Things, but only if one homebrews up a full 54-card deck. I'm sure they had good reasons to provide such a piddling small number of cards, but a Deck just isn't a deck without the full set.

Another fun one was a (homebrewed, I think) healing longsword I once encountered as a player. Heals people when it hits. If you do a called shot to the heart, it heals more, plus the heal-ee immediately falls in love with the next person they see. Much shipping between characters was had.

Then there's a homebrew artifact I've whipped up but have yet to use (haven't had a good excuse yet, plus it needs tweaking) after rereading a certain tvtropes page (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FreakyFridayFlip): a bowl which, once a week, applies the effect of a true mind switch power to two individuals who drink consecutively from it. I do need to figure out a way to make it harder to abuse, so it can be used only for its intended hilarity.

[LOTRfan]

The head of Vecna...:wink:

That actually exists. It's briefly mentioned in Vecna's Core Beliefs article. :smalltongue:

[peacenlove]

But there's a drawback that makes it quite tricky:

"Once per week, the closest companion or dearest loved one
of the Death Rock’s owner is automatically slain and turned
into a zombie that serves the owner.
The owner may forsake the Death Rock to prevent this (or
he might run out of companions or loved ones), but then
the Death Rock immediately fades away."

Fun campaign idea: members of a noble family are mysteriously dying and reanimating. Why? Because one of their number got his hands on this thing, and the PCs need to find out who.

Mindrape. Ironically in the same book. What problems can't it solve? :smallamused:

My favored artifact in terms of practicality would be the shadowstaff. Major artifact but not strong enough to break a high-powered game.
In terms of lore however I am fond of the halruaan skyships (No it has not a price. I can't hear you! LA-LA-LA! :smalltongue:) and the Netherese mythalars in Faerun.

@Arguskos: the ring of gaxx is reprinted in Epic level handbook.

[myancey]

I'd probably say..any of the Nether Scrolls. Provided I was a caster, of course.

[Grommen]

That actually exists. It's briefly mentioned in Vecna's Core Beliefs article. :smalltongue:

Dude if you chop off Vecna's head. It comes with two eyes of Vecna! How much more of an artifact do you need?

Coarse the only way to really do that is with the Sword of Kas so...Well hay it happened once!:smallbiggrin:

[Crow]

I can't believe nobody's mentioned the Hammer of Thunderbolts. Not so much by itself, but pair it with the belt of giant's strength and gauntlets of ogre power, and it's MJOLNIR!

[Lhurgyof]

Is the Apparatus of Kwalish an artifact?

[Seerow]

The head of Vecna...:wink:


Exactly this.

[MlleRouge]

Another vote for Deck Of Many Things, but only if one homebrews up a full 54-card deck. I'm sure they had good reasons to provide such a piddling small number of cards, but a Deck just isn't a deck without the full set.
.


:D This!

I recently made a full 78 card set (Tarot) for my group, and they loved it. And the results were hilarious!


Also, I'm a big fan of Gauntlets of the Blood Lord. No reason >>

Eye of Vecna is pretty sweet for flavor, though

[Amnestic]

I'd probably say..any of the Nether Scrolls. Provided I was a caster, of course.

Edwina disagrees :smallwink:

Machine of Lum the Mad and Deck of Many Things? Gamblers unite!

[myancey]

Edwina disagrees :smallwink:

Machine of Lum the Mad and Deck of Many Things? Gamblers unite!

Heck yes. Edwina was pretty funny.

And my brother lives for the Deck of Many Things. He quickly gets bored of D&D if I don't provide at least one gamble for him. The chance of death forces me to oblige him. :smallbiggrin:

[lothos]

In 1st Edition AD&D, the Deck of Many things wasn't an artifact, not even a minor artifact. It was just a magic item (so too was the apparatus of Kwalish, to answer another question).

I remember a session once where I was new to DMing (1st Edition) and I rolled up a Deck of Many Things as part of a treasure trove. I didn't really know what it did, so I just told the players they had found a pack of cards. So they started drawing them and I had to hastily understand what they did.

One of the guys got his soul trapped (The "Donjon" card I think) and another guy got the "Avoid situation" card, so he avoided the first guys soul getting trapped. After this things rapidly went downhill, because they seemed to think that every 2nd or 3rd card would be an "Avoid Situation" card and they could fix anything bad that would happen. The party Magic User (Wizard in 3.5 edition language) lost quite a lot of Intelligence with the "Idiot" card. It basically screwed up the party in some serious ways.... but it was so much fun.

After that, I only placed them very sparingly. I once had them encounter another Magic User who went around talking rather like Thog does in OOTS and asking people to be his friend. When they killed him and went through his stuff.... they found a Deck of Many things. That time they were more careful.


From 1st Edition artifacts, I really liked "Hewhard's Mystical Organ" which aside from having a name that inspired lots of giggling, basically granted Wish spells at will, provided you could play the musical instrument really well. There was no such thing as a perform skill back in 1st Edition, so I basically made up a rule for success that went on a percentile roll with some modifiers based on INT, WIS and CHA. If you got it wrong.... things got weird.

The Machine of Lum the Mad was a lot of fun too. I played in one campaign where a certain combination of levers could make the thing transform in to something like a modern tank for warfare.

In terms of later Editions, I'd thoroughly recommend reading the 3.5 source book "Tome of Artifacts", subtitled "Eldrich Relics and Wonders". It's a collection of artifacts by various authours that use 3.5 edition rules but as they say in the introduction use "First Edition Feel". Several of the Artifacts were created by Rich Burlew. I read those ones first :-)

Some of the artifacts in there sound a lot of fun, though I've never played in a campaign with any of them.

The "broach of the false god" makes people THINK you are a god.... Of course you aren't. People / creatures / other gods who make the saving throw to avoid being enchanted are not that impressed.

The "Lamentation Engine" I think takes the prize for the most evil artifact....even beating out thinks like the Hand and Eye of Vecna in my opinion. It requires "fuel" of things like the tears of children, crying for the death of their parents to power it. Then it takes parts of one creature and grafts it on to another, or similarly foul things....

I think my favourite Rich Burlew created artifact in that book is "The Emerald Scales of Veerak". It's the skin of a green dragon that's been made in to a rather nice suit of armor. Sadly, the dragon who owned the skin is caused pain when you wear it and wants it back......

Rich also authored several other artifacts in that book like "The Lucky Coin" and "Una's Shield", both of which I'd rather like to have in a campaign.

Cheers.

[RndmNumGen]

The Black Elfstone of Shannara. Ultimate power will be mine. :smallamused:

Though it could provide you with immense short term power, the Black Elfstone always ends up killing the wielder.

[Alleran]

Though it could provide you with immense short term power, the Black Elfstone always ends up killing the wielder.
As far as the crunch for the Elfstone is concerned, all you have to do is make a DC 20 Will save each time you use it or go permanently insane as the insanity spell. That's not hard at all to beat, and is ridiculously simple if you just make use of a Surge of Fortune to get a nat 20.

[_Zoot_]

An artifact that my Father made up after listening in on my group complaining about how hard it would be to attack a fortress:

The Great Elven Bow of S'langa! (Or G.E.B.O.S. (Say: Geeboss))

It's a Longbow whos arrows have a nuclear yield.

[El Dorado]

Deck of Many Things. Twice in the same campaign. Same character got Void the first time and Donjon on the second run. The party had fun conducting the rescue missions. :smallwink:

[Aharon]

The really good orbs of dragonkind that mimic the ability of the orbs in the first D&D movie. They were statted out in the Dragon; they summon 1000 dragons for 10 minutes, young adult or adult - I don't remember exactly. It may not be as powerful as other artifacts or game effects (gating in one great wyrm would likely be sufficient to deal with 1000 dragons of that age), but I imagine the visual to be awesome, and it was indeed one of the very very few moments in the movie that didn't suck.